LAGOS , Nigeria -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- At least 84 Nigerian children have died after ingesting teething medicine that contained a solvent typically found in antifreeze , the country 's health minister said Friday .

The My Pikin teething medicine has been reomved from shops in Nigeria .

Some 111 babies and children have been sickened since November by the tainted batch of My Pikin , which was found to contain diethylene glycol , which is used in some antifreeze and brake fluid .

Tests on the teething formula showed high concentrations of diethylene glycol , Health Minister Babtunde Osotimehin said in a statement released Friday .

Exposure to the solvent can damage the kidney , heart and nervous system , Osotimehin said , and it can be fatal .

The dead ranged from age 2 months to 7 years , he said . `` The death of any Nigerian child is a great loss to the nation , '' he said .

Several officials with pharmaceutical company Barewa Pharmaceutical Ltd have been charged with negligence .

And the Nigeria National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control , which is investigating the issue with the Ministry of Health , has shut the drug maker down .

Former officials of the company could not be reached for comment .

The food and drugs agency has said it believes the company thought it was buying propylene glycol , a normal ingredient in the teething medicine .

The government has asked that all My Pikin teething formula be returned ; however , it was not immediately clear if that had been done .

Symptoms of diethylene glycol exposure include : abdominal pain ; nausea or vomiting ; dizziness ; drowsiness ; confusion ; and decreased or lack of production of urine .

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Drug company taints My Pikin teething medicine with antifreeze ingredient

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84 children and babies die as a result , Nigerian government says

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Officials at Barewa Pharmaceutical Ltd charged with negligence